back now with more "today" on this thursday morning, it's the fourth day of october, 2012. it is downright balmy out here on the plaza this morning. a great day. and we say good morning to them as they wave to the folks back home. and good morning, again, everyone, i'm savannah gurthrie alongside al roker and david gregory. >> from today's troublemaker to today's professionals. >> and two of our favorites, hoda and kathie lee are going to

join the panel today. nicki minaj and mariah carey reportedly having a little tiff. we'll ask them what they think about that. >> it's kind of like kathie lee and hoda. then, we're going to tackle the ever raising cost of raising children. it can cost more than $230,000 to raise a child up to age 17 and that is not including college. that is staggering when you think about it. at least they're appreciative the whole time. not. we're going to have advice for parents. i'm sorry. >> you have lovely children. >> i do. >> why did you say that? >> they're cute. >> come on. there's therapy involved, that's going to add to the cost. >> there is school. coming up, we've got the eighth best beauty products according to "allure" magazine. a list of the breakthrough beauty award winners. >> david's going to get his shopping bag out. before we get to all that, we'll get to natalie morales at the news desk with more. >> good morning, savannah,

david, and al. good morning, everyone. the presidential candidates hit the campaign trail this morning. political commentators from both sides of the aisle are calling the first debate a win for republican mitt romney. as a seemingly lackluster president obama failed to take the reins. a hot topic of the debate, medicare, president obama says he based his health care law on romney's own plan for massachusetts. but romney stuck to his promise to repeal the law if elected. and despite being a prominent issue this week on the campaign trail, the candidates did not tackle the topic of immigration. turkey's deputy prime minister says a bill authorizing the use of force against syria is intended as a deterrent and not a declaration of war. that bill was approved by turkey's parliament this morning. turkish troops fired for the second day in retaliation for syrian mortar fire that killed five civilians in a turkish border town. health officials say a

deadly meningitis outbreak may be linked to steroid injections manufactured at a massachusetts pharmacy. the drug maker has recalled the steroid used to treat mostly back pain as investigators work to confirm the source of the infection. so far, more than two dozen people have been sickened across five states, four people have died, and experts say those numbers could grow. this type of meningitis is caused by a fungus and it is not as contagious as the more common forms. for more information, head to our website, today.com. a new jersey teen who disappeared after falsely tweeting there was an intruder in her home has been found safe. police have been searching for her since her tweet on sunday. security footage taken minutes later showed her alone with a backpack at a train station. disco queen donna summer who died in may is among the nominees for the rock 'n' roll hall of fame's class of 2013. classic rock mainstay deep purple is on the list. including joan jett and the

blackhearts, nwa, and public enemy. well, this love bird on the loose had drivers furious in florida. check it out as this emu just shuts down the highway strutting his stuff, apparently looking for a mate. the amorous bird had escaped his owner to explore a wider dating field. his owner showed up and nabbed him by putting a towel over his head. and viral video and now parenting aid says it could take an hour to feed his baby boy benjamin his veggies and tried just about everything to feed this fussy little guy, but that was until they tried feeding benjamin gangnam style. ♪ >> one more time. keep rolling. just one more time.

benjamin. >> needs some more gangnam style there. nothing like a spoonful of youtube to help the veggies go down. and nutritious, too, i imagine. let's go back outside to al for a check of your weather. >> wow, the kid gets to school and he has to have lunch, that's not going to happen. that's going to be rough. a real cutie here. what's your name? >> samantha. >> samantha, do you know what? you've got cacti on your head. did you know that? okay, good, i wanted to make sure. very much. thank you very much, samantha. let's see what we've got for you as far as your weather is concerned. for today, the wet weather up and down the east coast from florida all the way to new england. high humidity and then back to the west up in minneapolis, we are talking -- i should say northern minnesota, we're talking anywhere from 3 to 8 inches of snow. we've got winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories up there.

showers, thunderstorms, h hit-or-miss fog in the northeast. we have red flag warnings because it's still very dry and >> good morning. it will be another warm day. we expect off and on light rain showers. and i stand corrected. they're cacti. savannah? >> that's exactly right, al. you got that. well, time now for "today's" professionals. in today for dr. nancy, two fabulous ladies, kathie lee gifford, hoda kotb.

>> you're so kind. >> our first topic, rude america online. the "wall street journal" made the case that basically people are ruder online, on facebook, on twitter than they are in person. i mean, having read my fair of facebook comments, can there be any doubt that people are ruder online, kathie lee, what do you think? >> i think it's a natural extension of what's happened in our culture in general, which is an entitlement attitude of i -- i am allowed my feelings, i have the right to my feelings, i have the right to express my feelings and i really don't care if my feelings hurt anybody else because it's my right to have them. >> do you think people would act the way they act online anonymously in person if the person was right across from them? >> if i was saying something to kathie lee and i said, listen, you did something terrible and you immediately said i'm sorry i didn't mean that, i would change course, okay. i wouldn't continue spewing like you do online. you can write a whole tirade because you don't have any idea

how the other person's reacting. >> i think it's changed sort of with the reality television. reality television has given people permission to be rude in person and then -- >> and get paid for it. >> yes, exactly. and then social media has added on to it because you can say things behind a computer that you would not normally say and it gives you a false sense of famili familiarity. >> it's the same thing with sexting. >> how did we get to sexting? >> no, listen. young people are doing things, typing sexual things they wouldn't in person. so every emotion is magnified and not done in a realistic way when you're doing it virtually. and that's a big concern. >> is it bringing out what a person actually is? >> no, i think it's allowing people to do something they -- >> i can imagine -- >> no, a friend's son would text and he sent the text to a girl, and he was a virgin and he was talking like he was this big

stud. and it's like, it's the same thing, somebody who may not be rude in person feels they have the ability to do it. it's a problem with virtual stuff, period. >> just phony kind people, then. because a kind person wouldn't do it to your face -- >> but rude is the new black. >> rude is the new black. >> and another good segue, okay. because talking about rude, there was a big diva fight on "american idol," rumors of it, between mariah carey and nicki minaj. >> no rumor, i saw the video. >> does anybody think this is hype for the show, a publicity stunt? >> i do. >> duh. >> first of all, there was a video shot too before they even started they talked about trying to out diva one another. >> how much money would they have to pay you to get on national television and say some of these vulgar things. these women, you're women, you don't get on television and you don't curse people out.

there's a certain level of decorum that's gone away. >> but here to me is the exciting news for me. what it shows is these shows like "american idol," it's over. they can't sell the concept. they can't sell the concept -- >> don't grab my arm like that, it's kind of rude. >> they can't -- no, no, the shows used to be about the next new star. that's so tired now, the only way they can sell the show is the feuding between the hosts. that tells me the genre is coming to an end. >> that may be true, but having had experience with both of those ladies behind the scenes other places, that's why it seems real to me. >> that's interesting. okay. powerful ceo mom, 37-year-old yahoo ceo had her baby boy. >> congratulations. >> congratulations to her. she made headlines, actually when it first came out that she was pregnant that she was going to take a maternity leave of one or two weeks and appears to be standing by that. a lot of people look at that and say, all right, is that sending the wrong message? i ask you that, but i also ask you, is it fair to make her the

messenger? >> the whole reason for the feminist revolution was so that you as a woman would be empowered to be the woman that you are. this is the woman she is. and it's absolutely fine for her to take one week, two weeks. >> you know what? >> it's fine to take nine. >> if you work for her and you know your boss took two weeks on her maternity leave, i think you might think about your own a little. even though you're entitled to what you're entitled to, she may be setting a precedent she doesn't mean to be. >> i've had a lot of senior powerful women that work at the agency and they couldn't wait to get back to work. but unfortunately, or importantly when a boss sets a tone, and she's not doing it for that reason, a subordinate -- it sounds like the kind of woman that's not going to happen. but that's an interesting point. >> i'm sure there's a policy already in place at yahoo. >> yeah, legally women get three months. >> i got three months each baby,

but i took five weeks. >> it was up to you. >> i think some women worry if she sets the example of you can be e-mailing your boss from the c-section delivery place. >> not requiring them to. >> just by being a boss sometimes. >> i took maternity leave and i took a lot of heat for it. >> men and women bosses are going to have to set the example, you know, regardless, and i don't think this woman should be made to feel bad about her choice. >> real quick, other note on that. >> samantha, is she a good mother? >> of course. >> that's what it comes down to. you're not a bad mother if you take three weeks, you're not a good mother if you take six. you're a good mother in the way you treat your child. >> one more for you, right? a norwegian study. >> another one? >> these norwegian studies are killing me. it says that couples who share housework divorce more. >> yes. >> repeat, ladies if you share the chores with your husband, your marriage -- >> i think the more defined roles are, let the husband

clean, i think the healthier the relationship. once the roles are very blurred, i think that's cause for, come on, go at it. >> hoda and i did this about four days ago. >> aren't you cool? i'm sorry we're not in the cool club. >> you've already discussed this? >> oh, imagine that. >> tell us what you'd do. >> it's not a high horse, it's a same-size stool as yours. >> go ahead. >> what? >> i'm not trying to do housework, either way. to be honest with you, i like to do it my way and i'd rather he do his thing. >> what was discussed was if you're sharing these different things and a man is trying to help a woman's trying to help and they do it in a way you don't like, it's more work for you to go back and do it again. but that is certainly not grounds for divorce. >> right. >> clarity of roles. >> i don't understand why we have to do norwegian studies or housework.

>> right. amen. preach on. star jones, donny deutch, kathie lee and hoda. coming up next, the breakthrough beauty products of the year right after these messages. [ female announcer ] what would you call an ordinary breakfast pastry

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this is sears [ annoyed ] i'm pure milk chocolate on the inside. and i love that about you. and here i thought you loved me for my brain. is that made of chocolate too?!!! ♪ ♪ this morning on "today's beauty," the breakthrough products of the year. "allure" magazine goes through hundreds of products every year and awards the prestigious allure beauty seal. linda wells is the editor in chief. good morning. >> good morning. >> always love this. now, for you guys, this is truly the prize. >> right. this is the prize. >> it's a lot of work.

>> it's a ton of work. we test 2,500 products. and then for these, these are the breakthrough awards, these are based fully on science, innovation, products that have done something that no other product has done before. and we actually work it out with te dermatologists and chemists. we make sure these are legit. >> they've been scientifically tested and approved. >> completely. >> let's take a look at, starting first with the real weightless foundation from georgio armani, apparently five different oils instead of water or powder. >> and you know how foundation can feel thick and heavy, this one uses all the different oils which you think would be greasy, but they're really light oils, they evaporate on the skin, so you get the pure pigment. it's maestro foundation. >> amazing. >> those who suffer from r rosasia, there is no medical cure for this, but you did find

this cream can be helpful. >> there's no cream over the counter for this. and what happens is there's too many blood cells underneath the surface of the skin and too reactive. so this aven cream, it's french. >> anti-redness. >> right. >> for chronic redness. it has a protein that reduces the blood cells under the skin and constricts the blood cells. you use it every night for 12 weeks, you have a reduction of 50%. >> calms that redness. okay. and over here to the wrinkle creams. and, you know, you see all the science and the claims on the back here. what makes this stand out? >> this is roc retinol correction resurfacer. and it's the best anti-ager. but they combine it this time with ingredients that cause bioelectricity within the cells that cause the cells to resurface more quickly and to react as if it's been wounded. so it gives the results of three

peels you'd get at the dermatologist office, but it's in this tube, it's great. >> and over-the-counter, which is great and good price point. over here, the perfect lipstick, and you base it on three things, color, shine, and staying power. >> this is the glossy stain. and what we know is you use a lip gloss and it disappears by breakfast. and if you use a lip stain, your lips feel dry and uncomfortable. this combines the best of both. it actually goes on the lips, the water in the product evaporates and then the stain sticks to the lips and silicone droplets rise to the top magically and it gives you this glossiness. so it's really incredible scientific -- >> a experiment going on on your lips, who knew? >> over here, the big thing now are gel nails, and known for their strips, of course. but now they have the strip gels. >> right. >> how do these work? >> you use a strip, you apply the gel topcoat, put it under this cool l.e.d. light, 30 seconds, the hardened gel m

manicure. >> mascara, your editor gave up mascara because they clumped. she found her match. >> everyone wants thickening mascara, this is cover girl, they figured out at cover girl the clump is a certain size and they arranged the brushes so they could never form. >> this is a product that will help you with thinning hair. >> i'm obsessed with this, i use it all the time. it's called pantine age-defier thickener. >> finally a flat iron that apparently actually helps improve the condition of your hair rather than destroy it because a lot of flat irons do. >> this is super high-tech. it actually straightens your hair at a lower temperature and it measures how much moisture's in your hair and the air calibrates itself. you put this on first, flat iron

and it straightens it at a very low temperature. >> and they claim 300% improvement. so that's amazing. >> not bad. >> thank you so much. great breakthrough products. coming up, the cost of raising a child, financial planning advice for parents right after this. two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger.

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> clouds, rain showers, meister. this weather system slightly little farther east and we should improve. temperatures close to 80 degrees. better forecast as we move to the weekend. we will talk about that at noon.

♪ ♪ the monster mash >> americans spent $370 million dressing up their pets last halloween. we asked for some of your photos, and you sent them in. boy did you ever. you're making us laugh out loud this morning. these are just a few of them. tomorrow, we're going to get in the halloween spirit. al's dog and mine will be here as part of a costume parade. we'll see how they handle it. >> the gauntlet has been laid down, guys. >> cute. >> it's a surprise. >> a surprise to them too. >> i take it you're not showing

their costumes this afternoon. >> no. i'm not crafty that way, but i give props to those who are. coming up, the real cost of raising a family today, beyond raising pets too. it comes to over $235,000, that is stressing out a lot of parents and that's not including college. we're going to get a reality check and hopefully some coping strategies, as well. >> and we've also got another meeting of al's book club for kids. our eager young readers get set to meet the author of "vanished" and quiz her about the book. >> it's a little scary, right? >> a good book. not too scary. plus, classic recipes from around the world, including top desserts. >> wow. >> oh, yeah. >> put some fire on that thing. >> blow torch, we like that. >> burn the dessert, it's a good thing. and in case you missed it, did you see last night on the "tonight show"? jay leno poked some fun at our own al roker.

>> maybe it's me, but al roker getting a little testy there with elmo. did you see him? because al is always so nice to everybody. well, here, take a look. >> elmo, you ready to make some crumbs? >> we don't know yet. >> we do know. >> that didn't really happen. that did not really happen. >> okay. >> that's right, elmo's fine. no elmos were hurt in the making of that tape. >> why do they do that? >> i don't know. >> you're like a recurring cast member. >> the first lady -- >> now you're punching others. can we try it? >> no. let's show you what we've got for your weather as we head into the weekend. the long holiday weekend. tomorrow, sunny skies along the eastern sea board, wet weather in the ohio and mississippi

river valleys. beautiful out west, snow showers continue in northern minnesota and the northern plains. saturday, we've got wet weather from new england back into the upper ohio river valley. the eastern -- the western third of the country looking good with snow in the northern rockies. sunday, sunday, rain along the mid-atlantic coast, we've got mild weather and plenty of sunshine in the pacific northwest. a lot of heat stretching from southern california into texas >> good morning. we expect off and on light rain showers. the humidity should go down. >> and that's your latest

weather. >> all right. al, thanks. coming up next, investing in the future. money advice to cope with the high cost of raising children. camry se sport limited edition. [ man ] and what did you think? i loved it. why? 'cause it's a toyota, of course! i want a car that's gonna last me for a little while. ♪ i like the bells and whistles. that's my favorite part about the car. i like the navigation. i like the entune. and it's fast. [ male announcer ] see ja ne't's story and more at the camry effect. from toyota. ♪ i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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[ slurp! ] [ laughs ] ♪ [ female announcer ] hey ladies. here's a little something you'll find irresistible. cinnamon toast crunch, with a delicious cinnamon and sugar taste that's amazing. crave those crazy squares.™ ♪ this morning on "today's money," the skyrocketing cost of raising a family. the u.s. department of agriculture estimates it can cost an average of $235,000 to raise a child born in 2011 up to age 17. it's no wonder a study from

babycenter.com found that four out of five families are stressed out about money. and carmen wong-ulrich is here to help us out. good morning. >> good morning. >> that $235,000 that's up 10% from the year before. >> it's a lot. >> i imagine that number's going to continue to grow. and nowadays, a lot of family are dual income if they're lucky, but a lot of single-income families -- >> it's almost more precarious to be dual income and base your budget on both of those incomes. for the whole life of your family, somebody's income is going to go away or get cut back or you're going to have another child. so you want to make sure to form your budget on less than that 100% of your dual income that way you have flexibility. and i know some families that have taken one income and used that solely to save, emergency fund, retirement and college and that way you have a safety net should someone get laid off or income go down. >> and you say a lot of people

have separate credit card accounts, savings accounts. is that something to be thinking about doing? >> this is different. the baby center moms say they're more likely to have a separate credit card where the dads are more likely to have a separate savings account. that is really revealing and a little bit dangerous. moms are focused on the budget and spending and dads are focused on saving and growing. so we can learn from each other there. and i think more moms need to pay attention to planning long-term planning, saving and growing, not just the budget day-to-day. >> and that's where there is a lot of conflict as you said on babycenter.com, four out of five couples disagree on the spending rules of the family. how do you get them to come together? >> very much so. and they found here that when moms splurge, where do you splurge? moms almost 80% of moms say they're more likely to splurge on their kids, whereas maybe this isn't so surprising, dads, over half of dads are more likely to splurge on themselves. here's the thing, if you

communicate about the budget and you really make it about the numbers, it doesn't have to be a battle over soccer cleats and spending on that, it's got to be about these numbers. what are your goals as a family? and also make note of patterns. if you see patterns of where are your arguing? what is about it? how much is it? then get to the root of the problem. >> and getting to the root of the problem is what you have to do next. where are you finding that a lot of couples break down when it comes down to that? >> because it's not really about the money. about some other goal, may be about control. but again, if you become the family cfo, the accountant, i say the cfo, if you're really in charge of the household budget, set a time aside once a month to go down and break it down and show your spouse if you're arguing with them, this is where the money's going, this is the goal we need to set, whether it's paying down debt, saving for college, do we share those goals? and if we cut here and here and here, this is where the money should go instead. got to communicate. >> and most people, i think,

view this as investing in your child's future, but that raises the other concern, should you be worried about your children's future or your own future first? >> virtually all of the moms we surveyed at baby center believe the money they spend on their children, not towards education, but in general is an investment in their children. but this is something i hear from moms all the time, which scares me. they say, oh, that's okay, i'll tap home equity to pay for college, it's okay, i'll cut down how much i'm putting away for retirement. i've been saying this for years, like you're on an airplane and they say put your oxygen mask on yourself first and then your child. if you don't take care of yourself, you end up being a burden on your kids. the best gift to give them is maintain and secure your retirement and savings, and then you can take care of them. >> good suggestions, start using coupons, eating out less. >> hand-me-downs, and finding free activities and events now online and message boards. so many different ways to find free things to do as a family. and half of the moms said they actually enjoy that. they enjoy all this coupon

clipping and stuff. it's money that can be put to something else. >> it's the art of the deal. getting out there. >> yeah. >> thanks so much. >> thank you. coming up next, al's book club for kids chats about "vanished." [ female announcer ] dove go sleeveless presents the latest thing to wear with beautiful tops. beautiful underarms. wear with toga tops, yoga tops, and va va voom tops! dove go sleeveless makes underarms soft and smooth in just five days. effective protection. beautiful result.

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♪ i woke up to a feeling ♪ every little thing has meaning ♪ ♪ i woke up to a light bulb on ♪ every little thing is possible now ♪ [ female announcer ] we've added a touch of philadelphia cream cheese to our kraft natural cheese to make it creamier so whatever you make isn't just good, it's amazing. ♪ ...is amazing with the love that i found ♪ ♪ your mouth has giggled, snuggled, bubbled ...and yellowed. because if you're not whitening, you're yellowing. crest whitestrips remove over ten years of stains and whiten 25 times better than a leading whitening toothpaste. crest 3d white whitestrips. this morning on al's book club for kids, "vanished."

11-year-old mila dreams of becoming a musician. when her instrument disappears, she discovers the true story and long history of vanishing without a trace. and we want to welcome back our al's book club kids, jack, samara, and cindy. good to see you guys. and joining us from skype, our special guest lexi, skyping in from michigan. >> how are you? >> good. >> we're looking forward to your question. hold on a sec, we're going to talk to sheila. this is really kind of interesting. this is the actual instrument. >> that's right. this is something played in southern india? >> yes, this comes -- this is from southern india. and it's played in south indian classical music. >> what does it sound like? >> well, i'm going to play it a little bit later. it's not like anything that we hear here. it's something similar to a harp. >> it's very cool.

>> yeah. >> a central character in the book. let's find out what our guys thought. jack, what's your question for sheila. >> good morning. the central plot of your story is about a vanishing musical instrument, did you play a musical instrument growing up? >> it's a very good question, i wasn't a veena player, i was a violinist and i didn't know anything about it. but my niece plays it and the book was written for her. she inspired the main character. but this i got from india last year and it's now mine. it used to belong to my husband's family. >> can we hear a little bit of it? >> absolutely. i'm going to play just the opening line to a song i'm working on with my teacher. ♪

>> wow. that sounds great. >> thank you. >> how long have you been working on it? >> four months. >> you're doing great. all right. let's check in now, what's your question? >> your book is based on your niece who also shares the same main character as your main character. besides the name and playing the veena, what else do they have in common? >> well, i'd like to say nothing and everything. when i first started writing the book, she was my audience, you know. i was writing it for her. and then when it was time to send it out into the world and i was working with my editor, i needed to make her fictional. so i had to give her qualities she didn't have. she's scared of playing in front of people, that's me. so there's a little bit of me and a little bit of her. >> all right. and then finally, let's go to

samara. what's your question? >> i'm sidney. >> i'm sorry. i'm so taken with the instrument. >> one of the themes in your book is that it's cursed, no one can seem to hold on to it. is this based on an urban legend you heard growing up? >> no, it was my own particular fiction. i just thought it was interesting to find different ways to explain it was gone. with was it a person or something super natural? >> let's go to lexi. what's your question? >> one of the things i enjoyed most about your book was learning about indian culture. when you wrote the book, was one of your goals to teach young readers about indian culture? if so, why? >> that's a very good question, lexi. i know when i was growing up, i loved to read adventure stories and i loved to read about girl characters who were solving mysteries, but i never saw anybody that was like me, and so i felt like this was a chance to have an indian-american girl be a detective. so, yeah, that was one of the

things i hoped to do. >> very important to do too. >> absolutely. >> thank you so much. let's find out how the kids rated the book on a scale of one to five stars, "vanished" gets four stars. very good. sheila, kids, lexi, thank you so much. we appreciate it. if you're between the ages of 9 and 12 and would like to be the next guest kid, head to today.com. and the next book, it's a tale dark and grim. yeah, it's celebrating a great story, and we're going to do that coming up with our next al's book club for kids. meanwhile, celebrating classic recipes, including crepes, but first this is "today" on nbc. krystal conwell : we see a lot of problems with the...

number of students that we have. resources. materials. things that the children need... on a day-to-day basis. anncr: question seven will help. the department of legislative services says question seven... will mean hundreds of millions of dollars... for schools...from gaming revenues that would have... gone to other states. and independent audits will guarantee the money... goes where it's supposed to. krystal conwell: i think people should vote for question... seven because i think it will be a great benefit to children. this morning on "today's" kitchen, back to basics, the editors have compiled their most classic recipes.

a judge at bravo's top chef masters. good morning, james. >> good morning. >> congratulations, 150 issues. >> yes. >> quite an accomplishment. how do you decide what the classics are after so many issues? >> you know, a real classic just absolutely stands the test of time. it's a perfect dish that doesn't need any tricking out. it's just a fantastic food. >> very good. >> and crepes, just one of the best classics in the world. >> what's in the flour mix? >> it's a very easy batter, a bunch of eggs and a little bit of flour, cream, and milk. and in a teflon pan, the making of crepes is as easy as pancakes. >> very thin pancakes. >> very, very thin pancakes. >> nice and runny. >> after about two minutes or so when a crepe is a bit dry on top no longer bubbly, you simply flip it and no crazy cheffy pyrotechnics needed. >> the key is a really nicely buttered teflon pan too, right? >> exactly.

>> what are you going to make as a sauce? >> the real key is this gorgeous sauce which is butter and lemon. >> lots of butter. >> and orange zest and a few licquors, and you let that bubble around a bit. and what you're going to be doing -- doesn't it smell delicious? then what you're going to be doing is basically taking each crepe and one-by-one in your final serving pan -- >> yeah. >> dipping them into the batter, folding them into halves and then into quarters and you're fanning them around the pan like so. >> that looks beautiful. >> sprinkling a bit of sugar on top. and then lastly, more alcohol. >> we're liking this recipe a lot. >> no problems there. >> and lastly -- >> oh, you torch it.

stand back. >> stand back, but it's not insane, it's not an insane explosion. in fact, all you're really going to get is sort of a low -- >> like a low flame, you can barely see it on the top. >> what that's doing, it's softening the taste of the alcohol and also -- >> this is served up, right? >> please, have a taste. >> we will, we will. >> and tell us about some of the classic foods you've brought us up front as i try this. that's amazing, al. >> hi, how are you? it's basically mashed potatoes heavily spiced inside this fried dumpling. it's delicious cilantro -- green beans from china. >> i made that. it's so good. and this pasta? >> sauteed vegetables and a little cream, delicious. >> and the sweet potato pie. >> sweet potato pie, baked alas